The One Where I Spout 7 Random Things (#5)

I normally do this at home, so I have the 7 Quick Takes pic in my documents and quickly upload it. But today I write to you from my work computer that has no graphic and really no time to do the rigamorale.

(my spell check says that isn't a real word. but it SO is. right?  i mean, right??)

So, the moral of the story is go visit Jennifer for more Quick Takers (which, unfortunately does not include her as her household got hit by a bug - yikes!).

Anyways, without further ado:

1.
Today we are having a retreat group come up from Rapid City. Yay! After all, that's the point of what we do and we like what we do. So, yay! Bad news is that 2 of the 6 cabins we were trying to use are frozen. So, they're going to Plan B (which is just a simple way of saying we'll open up different cabins instead of those. we winterize all our cabins in the fall and just open them throughout the winter as we need them. less frozen pipes that way! at least ... supposedly). Can I just say again how glad I am that I am the secretary and not part of the maintenance team? Poor Hubby!

2.
I am currently working on a letter to send out to all my supporters (the missionary part of this whole Montana Missionary thing). It says Feb on it, so I figure I should actually get it sent out somewhat close to Feb. I have just been so busy since we got married I haven't had time. No good since my supporters didn't even hear about Hubby until I sent them my wedding invites. True story. And now they haven't heard from me since. Yikes! For those wondering, this is not a prime example of "how to live life as a missionary"

3.
Speaking of not being on top of things, I still haven't changed my driver's license. In my defense, I live 2 hours from the closest DL bureau and the other day when I went to get my soc. security card it wasn't in my state! But now the camp's bank is asking me to bring in my new DL so they can get a copy for their records. Errr .... apparently a road trip is in my future!

Sidenote: anyone know what the DL bureau is called in the blue pages??

Side sidenote: why do government offices NEVER answer their phones??

4.
I am now listening to the Pandora Glee station thanks to Nora. It's amazing and I love it! So cheerful! However, my boss doesn't like noise in the office (his office is just off of mine and he never closes his door), so when he gets back from town (yeah, we have to go to "town" to get the mail and go to the bank), I'll have to turn it down or turn it off. I have a bad habit of slowly having the volume on my music creep up further and further until he says something and then I do a good job of turning it down until I let it creep up and up and up and then we do the whole process over and over again. So fun!

5.
We got 3 heavy prayer requests last night (2 from my home church in MN and 1 from our church here) and my heart is just heavy today. There are sad things happening. I love knowing that prayer makes a difference, but I also am works oriented so I want to be able to DO something. But that's the beauty isn't it? Prayer IS doing something. It's the best thing we can DO. And so I do. And rest in the knowledge that God has this in His control.

Sidenote: Thanks to this amazingly convicting article I emailed one of them to let them know I was praying. Thanks to Alece for posting it on Twitter!

6.
I had coffee this morning for the first time in a week. I think my taste buds are still all messed up from my cold as it just doesn't taste as good. And now I have a headache from the caffeine. Awesome. Apparently being sick weaned me off but now I'm forcing myself back on. Good choice Rachel! However, I will probably need it the next two mornings because I am cooking breakfast for the retreat group, which means getting up early!

7.
Have I ever told you that during the "off-season" my work day starts at 9? So that means Hubby and I routinely roll out of bed at 8:15 or later. Yeah, it's rough :-)

Happy Friday loves!

The One Where I Talk For Awhile

Do ya'll have any traditions? As we go further and further along in our married life (it'll be 2 months on Tuesday!), I have noticed some things that are becoming regular.

The first one started to develop before we were even married. Hubby always came to pick me up on Sunday mornings for church and one time we decided he would come over early and have breakfast. That became more and more normal and pretty soon it was an understood. At first we would make scrambled eggs and sit down and eat them with toast. One morning I was running behind a little, and so he made the eggs. Then, because I wouldn't have time to sit down and eat, he put it in a burrito shell so I could take it with us. Genius! They were so delicious that we have made that part of our normal Sunday morning routine.

We were even able to share that tradition with his parents when they came to see us last weekend!

On nights when I make pizza (I am currently on the search for a delicious, easy, quick pizza sauce recipe - any input??), we have a tendency to watch movies. Now, watching something is not unusual for us - we just normally choose to watch TV on DVD or Netflix (Alias,The Office, Heroes, etc). However, one night we decided to actually watch a movie and it just so happened that I had Herbie from Netflix. There are times that I love the opportunity to go back to my childhood and this was one of them! The next time we had pizza, we chose The Absent Minded Professor. We had pizza on Tuesday night and we watched White Christmas.

I think the impetus behind this is mainly me, but I am enjoying having a chance to watch some old movies with Hubby. It's almost as if pizza and old movies now go together. It only makes sense to me!

As time goes on (after all, we haven't even been married for 2 months!), I am excited to see what other traditions come up. What about you? Anything you do that has become tradition?

As you can see, ours mainly revolves around food. Mostly because we live in the middle of nowhere and you have to find joy in the little things. But do you have anything that doesn't involve eating?

The One Where I Participate In 10 On Tuesday (#6)

Go visit Chelsea for more TOTs!


1. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
     Mint Chocolate Chip


2. What is your earliest memory?
     I was in the barn, sitting on a horse. It was the day that he got sold, so I guess it was me saying good-bye?

3. What is your earliest memory of a dessert?
   Probably drinking my mom's amazing chocolate shakes or watching her make chocolate cake.

4. Do you have any recurring dreams?
   When I was little I used to dream a lot about the Nestle witch - do you remember those commercials? Anyways, I used to dream she was in our basement. Now, I have a lot of dreams where I am screaming for help but I don't make any sound. Very frustrating!

5. Have you ever dreamed about dessert?
    Not to my recollection.

6. What is one thing (aside from a cell phone or computer) that you cannot go the entire day without?
   A hug from Hubby.

7. What is one dessert you could go your entire life without ever having again?
   Any pie that ends in 'cream'. 

8. If you could go on vacation tomorrow, where would you go? (Assume someone else is footing the bill, but within reason…so “the moon” won’t work)
  On a round the world cruise.

9. If you could have any dessert tomorrow, what would you have (assume someone else is buying it for you. Within reason though, no “gold sprinkled ice cream cones.”)
  Mmmm ... I agree with Chelsea on these. Cheesecake or chocolate covered strawberries. Yummy!

10.  What was your first impression of your significant other? If you’re single, what was your first impression of your best friend?
  I thought he was really good looking, but quiet.

11. What is your first impression of dessert pizza? (Personally, I think it’s weird. I love dessert but I don’t want any on my pizza.)
  How did he sneak in an 11th question?? That's what I want to know!
  
  Oh, and I like dessert pizza. It's a little weird, but delicious none-the-less.

The One Where I Whine But Find Joy At The Same Time

My head is stuffy, my throat is sore, my ears are about to burst from pressure and my nose is red and swollen.

And yet hubby still tells me how beautiful I am.

I love him.

The One Where I Spout 7 Random Things (#4)

Click on the picture to take you to more 7 Quick Takes! And without further ado, here are mine::

1.
It is 4:14 and I am currently curled up in bed with Miss Millie and my heating blanket. On Wednesday night I started to get a headache and that feeling like I was going to get sick. Thursday morning I woke up with a slightly sore throat but felt pretty good. By the time I got back from "town" it had turned into a chest thing. I have a headache and my chest is really really tight. My colds don't normally go to my chest this early but apparently this time I "lucked" out!

2.
I went to "town" yesterday for a multitude of reasons - to get a new soc security card, to drop off a ton of stuff at a Goodwill type place, to go to the doctor and to see my BFF. The reason I chose that "town" was specifically because of the soc security office. As much as I love my BFF and love having her only 2 hours away from me, we don't normally go to that "town" because there are more options the other way (we are in the middle of a triangle that will get us to 3 different WalMarts in 3 different states in 2 hours). But the next closest soc. sec office is 3 hours away.  I even chose what gynecologist I would go see because of the soc security office (and no, I'm not pregnant. I am just blessed by a bladder infection. that. won't. go. away.). So, I booked it up there to get to the dr on time, had a wonderful lunch with Bethy and then headed on my merry way to the soc security office. I circled the block a couple of times trying to find it (it was in a very nondescript building with a ton of other offices), found a parking spot and went inside. I reached for the door and had some issues getting it open. Apparently they are only open until noon on Thursday.

3.
Miss Millie got a haircut this week and as a result, she is also a very big fan of my heating blanket. It's kind of funny.

4. 
My in-laws have been talking about coming to see us for awhile now because they haven't been here yet, (they live in SoDak, about 500 miles away. incidentally, my parents also live 500 miles away from us, but just in MN), and this weekend was one they had talked about. We hadn't heard from them for sure, so we just assumed they weren't coming, but we got a call from my MIL at lunch and they're planning on heading this way. Tonight! I picked up the house and unfortunately, that's about the best they're going to get. I'm excited to have them come, because I love my in-laws. They're amazing. But my energy level is about zero. And there is nothing to do in our small town, so hopefully they like just staring at their beautiful children because thats about all they're going to get!

5. 
Hubby and I have been working our way through The Office season 5 on instant Netflix. We're fans. Except it's so awkward that we can only take it for a little bit. Except it's such a trainwreck that we can't stop watching. So, at various time of our viewing we'll take turns turning our faces away because "IT'S JUST SO AWKWARD". Then we get over it and laugh.

6. 
I am in a BBC mood right now. An old BBC kinda mood. So I put a bunch of BBC shows in my instant queue and plan to watch them as soon as I'm done writing this.

7.
I'm sorry if this doesn't make a lot of sense. I really tried but my head is just making no sense to me right now. So, good luck deciphering!

The One Where I Say I Do (pt 1)

Hello Loves!

I know there are a couple of you out there that are interested in hearing about our wedding and seeing some pictures, so this is for you! Sorry this is so late, and I can't promise this will be done in a timely manner, but here it goes:

Hubby (then Fiance) and I were planning on heading to my parents house on Christmas Eve. We would race to Bismarck to pick up my wedding dress before the shop closed, and then race on home to Minnesota so we could make it in time for my church's Christmas Eve service. Considering its a 7-8 hour drive and church was at 4, we would have had a full day!

Then mom called me at 7:00 on Tuesday morning and said that if we were planning on being home for Christmas, we had to leave. Right then.

Ummm ... what?!?

Bear in mind that at this point we were 11 days away from our wedding, I had planned the wedding in 2 shopping trips (one to get my dress and one to get everything else), and I had just finished finals. We had one more counseling session that night and then I was going to take Wednesday to pack, taking my time to figure out everything I needed and wanted for a week at home, the wedding and then our honeymoon (which at this point I had no idea where it was). I was determined that this time my packing would be different - it would be logical, economical and not fill up the whole car.

Yeah, about that.

So, I called Fiance, who was still sleeping. His roommate woke him up and handed him the phone. We discussed what mom had told me, namely that there were two huge blizzards heading towards my parents and  we had only a small window of time to get there. We hemmed and hawed and figured it would be better to spend Christmas with family than by ourselves in MT. So, we hung  up the phone and started throwing things in our suitcases.

As far as logical, economical and space conscious ... well, I tried.

The only that he told me about our honeymoon is that it was somewhere warm (which he called and told me while I was frantically throwing things in suitcases, packing up Miss Millie's things to go to the dog sitter, and calling people to tell them what was going on). I registered enough to put in my capris,shorts and flip-flops, but I totally forgot about bringing shirts. Also, I COULD NOT find my swimsuit. Anywhere. I looked and looked and looked.

Luckily my hometown has a Target and they came through for me. Their swimsuit selection this time of year was quite impressive, so I was able to pick one up. As for shirts ... well, lets just say every time I hit up Target (which was A LOT the week before the wedding), I made my way through the clothing section to see if I could glean anything else. I did score one t-shirt with a Christmas tree on it and 2 tank tops. Not bad. Combine that with the 2 t-shirts I had brought home and I made it through ok.

Anyways, we packed up the car (literally packed full, full, full!) and raced to Bismarck to pick up my dress. We were able to squeak into town right as they were closing and I tried on my dress while Fiance napped in the car. I paid for the alterations (just a simple hem job - can you believe I was able to find a dress on my one day of dress shopping that required me to buy it off the rack and all I had to do was hem it?? answered prayer!), and we headed off down the highway.

We finally pulled into my parent's house laate that night, after making several wedding stops in Fargo. It was cold, we were tired and slightly stressed but, we were there.

Next up: Christmas and the week before the wedding. 


Can you even handle the excitement??


In the meantime, I will leave you with a pic. Notice my shoes - how cute are they?? 

The One Where I Talk For Awhile

I've mentioned before that winter is hard for me. The lack of sunlight, warmth and general cheeriness is hard on my body. I can still function and be a pretty normal human being (normal being a vague term here), but I lose joy.

I miss joy.

The past couple of days have been harder and I'm not sure why. Tears hang out in the corners of my eyes, just waiting for the slightest provocation to fall. They have given me no reason about why they showed up unexpectedly, but they sure are making themselves at home. My tone gets terser and my patience is stretched thin. I am walking along the wood on the edge of the sandbox, arms outstretched, trying to stay balanced, but the slightest bit of wind can take me either way.

I get asked a lot if I am "ok" and I have no answer. Yes, of course I am ok. But I'm not. Because I'm not quite me.

I miss me.

But soon enough I will come back, bringing my joy with me. And those days will be happy. And these will be but a distant memory.

The One Where I Participate In 10 On Tuesday (#5)

Go visit Chelsea for more TOT!


Ore more tots. Whichever. I'm sure she has some.


1. If you could open any type of store/place of business (money is no obstacle), what would you open?
A haberdashery. I don't even know if that is the right word, but I would have a mish-mash of stuff, including books, kitchen supplies, cool looking things and what have you. It would be in a log building and have wooden shelves with creaky floors. No fluorescent lighting either. A place that had a ton of nooks and surprises. 


2. If all jobs paid equally, what occupation would you want? Why?
Museum curator. Or archeologist. Or something to do with history.

3. If you could be any animal in the world, what would you pick? Why?
Giraffe. Cause you get to be dorky and cool and tall. And live on the serengheti.

4. If offered one “service” free of charge, which would you choose? (chauffeur, maid, personal shopper, chef, etc.)
Maid. Definitely maid. I pick my house up all the time but I don't always clean it. A maid would be lovely to do the dusting and vacuuming and cleaning.

5. What is one habit, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t seem to break?
Compulsively reading blogs. Constantly. And blog hoppings. I've cut down my Google Reader checks to just once a day, but I still find blogs throughout the day. And checking my Facebook. Over and over and over. Drives hubby crazy! 


6. What is one thing that no matter how many you own, you still love to buy all the time?
Comfy pants (hubby had to remind me. cause I totally forgot. maybe because it's just so ingrained in me that I keep buying them without thinking? hmmm.) 


7. Out of all the game shows (past and present), which would you want to be a participant on and play?
Wheel of Fortune. From this side of the screen the puzzles are so easily answerable. Of course it's probably not the same on that side! 


8. If you could play the lead role in any movie that’s already been made, which movie would you pick?
Hmmm .... does lead female count? Even if its not the true "lead"? Cause then I would pick Ana Pascal in Stranger than Fiction. I have no idea why, its just the role that came to my mind. Mostly because I love how confident she is in herself.


9. Name 5 things on your bucket list (things you want to do before you die).
Get a tattoo. Visit all the continents. Ride a giraffe. Get my heart broken by something that breaks Jesus' heart. Learn Italian.


10.  Which one of your birthdays was the best? What did you do that day?
This past one was pretty awesome, cause hubby (well .. he wasn't hubby then) took me to Denver. Cause it was my 25th and I wanted to do something cooler than just sit around our small town. So we stayed with my brother and went to the aquarium.

The One Where I BlogStalk

Ever since I was introduced to the idea of blogs, I have been a blog stalker. At my job before this one, I had A LOT of down time, because my job was to sit at my desk in case the phone rang. So, I spent a lot of time on Xanga, back when that was the cool thing.

Now that I've grown up a bit, I spend a lot of time with my Google Reader. On a slooooow day at camp, I blog hop. I go from one to another to another. Not all of them make it into my Reader, but I do get to visit a lot of people around the world!

Speaking of my Reader, I currently have 95 subscriptions.

I know 51 of those bloggers personally, or at least minimally. There is Lisa, who was my college roommate. Gretchen, who is one of my best friend's sister-in-laws. I was a wee little grade schooler when Melissa was a high schooler. Tina, Anna and Rachel were sisters that I went to high school with. Vanessa and I were good friends throughout high school (and beyond!). Bethany is one of my very very closest friends and was my matron of honor. Jenn worked at the same camp I do, except she was a couple of years ahead of me. Syd and Andrea also hail from TER. Julie is the daughter-in-law of camp's closest neighbor and someone I thoroughly enjoy spending time with when she is around. Elizabeth, who was my Bible study leader in Minnesota. Bethany, who was on my floor freshman year of college.

There are the big time bloggers, like Pete Wilson, and his wife Brandi, from Nashville. Or Abraham Piper, and his wife Molly, who go to Bethlehem Baptist (however, I'm pretty sure Lisa knows them, so I feel better about that!). Or Angie, who is Todd Smith's wife from Selah. Or of course, The Pioneer Woman, who I started reading before I even knew what Google Reader was (I spent a lot of time googling her before I finally bookmarked her).

Then there are the bloggers that I forget I don't know and might not know who I am. I have been following Amy Beth for a year now and always look forward to what she has to say, but even though we're Facebook friends, I'm pretty sure she doesn't know who I am. Alece and I are also Facebook friends, and I love reading her thoughts and dreaming thoughts of South Africa with her, but once again, don't think she knows who I am (even though she responded to my Facebook status once!). Annie, who I found out, once we were Facebook friends, know a person in common and I bought her EP, which is amazing. Chelsea, who I have been linking to like crazy lately and Twitterstalking as well (sorry Chelsea!). Another Annie that I read because of the other Annie. Ellyn, who I know has NO idea who I am, simply because I just read her blog and don't comment.

But they feel like friends. All of them. It feels like I am reading an email they are sending to me. I know that people who aren't bloggers don't understand why we blog or why we would want to read someone we don't know. But it makes sense to me. We do it because we can. Because they invite us in. Because it makes this big world just a little bit smaller. And that's nice.

The One Where I Spout 7 Random Things (#3)

1. 

I love having Friday afternoon off. It isn't part of my normal schedule, but since I worked all day on Tuesday, I decided to take this afternoon off to compensate. Hubby took the afternoon off as well and it's been lovely. I read an article I have to write a paper on and it's just glorious! We're having people over for supper and a movie (a bi-weekly tradition that used to take place at another friend's house until he moved to AZ. we're going to miss him. and his gigantic screen/projector/surround sound set-up)

2.

I have been DOMESTIC this week. I have baked and cooked more in two days than I have in the last week (in the last month if you count how much of it was from scratch - including marinara sauce, mexican rice, a cake, cookies, french bread, and several meals). Oddly enough my homework is feeling neglected this week. Weird.

3.

I am very frustrated with the corporation Zales. We bought our rings from them, and while we like our rings a lot, they are just not truthful in what they tell us. First they told us they could have my ring soldered and back to us by our wedding ... umm yeah, that didn't happen. Luckily they had a set that looked just like mine that they let us use for the wedding, but still. FRUSTRATING! Now we took my ring in to be resized (I have really small hands and fingers) and they told us it would be back to us by Valentine's Day, including the time it took for them to ship it to us from Rapid City. Well, I called them today to check the status and they just got it in. Meaning it hadn't shipped to us yet. Not a huge deal, I am just frustrated that this is the second time they promised something they couldn't deliver. And its been two separate stores too. GRR.

4.

We got our wireless router yesterday. It's not working yet. Grr. So I'm still tied to the kitchen table. Hopefully getting it figured out today!

5. 

I just started using Google Chrome this week at the recommendation of my friend Travis and I'm enjoying it! My favorite part (and the reason I got it in the first place) is Chromed Bird. I am so much more of a Tweeter now and I actually kinda like it!

6.

Hubby and I hit up Sam's Club last weekend (ummm ...wow!! my family was never much of a bulk buying kinda, but hubby's was so we borrowed camp's card and hit them up. ummmm .... wow!!). Anyways, we picked up some hazelnut coffee, which is yummy with half & half. Not so yummy with french vanilla creamer.

7.

Last Friday I mentioned hearing the sirens go off at 6:30 and not knowing what was happening. Well, on our way to work that morning, we discovered what happened - a house burnt down. So, while I was sitting here in my kitchen, playing with my blog, just a few blocks away a house was on fire and a 25 yr old man lost his life. You just don't know. 

The One Where I Participate in Ten on Tuesday (#4)

Confession time:  I started this yesterday (meaning I copied and pasted the questions into my new post form) and then never got a chance to get back to it. So, it's actually Wednesday morning at 9:22 when I am publishing it. But they are such great questions that I couldn't not answer them! Hopefully Chelsea doesn't kick me out of the TOT club!


1. Fill in the blank. Sometimes I wish my life was more ______.
    Adventurous
2. How do you cure the hiccups?
    Sometimes I will hold my breath, but it never really works, which is annoying because I have REALLY loud hiccups and so when I go to answer the phone at work, it ends up being "good HICCUP morning" followed by profuse apologies. One time, my boss (who is a 68 yr old man) decided that he needed to help me cure my hiccups, so I was standing at his desk talking to him and while he was giving me his answer he threw in a really loud scream into the middle of his sentence. Scared me to death! I don't remember if it worked or not ... I just remember the fact that the executive director screamed in my face :-)
3. What are three of your favorite indulgences?
     1. A ton of creamer in my coffee
     2. Spending all day reading
     3. Buying the good toilet paper 
4. Where is the most exotic place you would like to travel to? The most mundane?
     1. Egypt
      2. Checotah, OK 
5. Does having your time planned out stress you or relax you?
     Having a plan relaxes me. I don't plan my time out in hour by hour increments, but I like to at least have a handle on what is going on.
6. What are your favourite fabrics to wear?
     Cotton
7. Do you sleep through the night?
    Nope! Before I was married I would on nights when I was really tired, but I wake up periodically other nights. Now that I'm married, I wake up every night. Just for brief moments, but there is definitely waking time!
8. When you were younger, what did you think you would be doing at this age? How close is that to what you are doing?
    Depends on how much younger. I'm going to go with late Jr High/High School, because that was when I was actually practical about my future (you know ... not some amazing horse trainer in Kentucky or an Orca Whale whisperer). Anyways, I would be a psychologist, with a practice and a husband and a baby. I always thought I would marry my high school sweetheart,but since he never showed up that didn't pan out so well. Then I thought I would start having kids in my early twenties. Not so much. So, the answer is, no. I never thought I would be a secretary at a Christian Camp in SE Montana. However, I did get the married part right! I was just a little ahead of schedule when I would dream about it :-)
9. What has surprised you most about growing up?
    The fact that we can't do whatever we want. We are taught over and over that all we have to do is dream and it will come real. While I am all about having dreams and goals and pursuing them, sometimes life just doesn't work out that way. I can't be a famous actress. I simply don't have the skills! Life is about accepting who you are, what your skill levels actually are and dreaming within them (with a HUGE dose of following the path God has for you!)
10. Are you good at keeping secrets?
     Depends on whether it is my secret or someone else's secret. I am TERRIBLE at keeping my secrets. I have such a good core group of friends that I tell all of them, everything (when I get a chance to talk to them at least :) ). And so I have very few "me" secrets. Other people's secrets are another story. I really do try to keep a handle on those. However, I do like to tell hubby. Just because I know he won't tell and it helps me to have at least that one release. 

The One Where I Show You A Picture

This picture always cracks me up. Every time I see it.

Just look at how intent I am!

This concrete job needs to get done and it needs to get done right, and by golly, I'm the girl to do it!

Oh the joys of working at a ministry. The meaning of the word secretary takes on SUCH a different meaning!

The One Where I Realize Something

Tonight, as I was making our bed (don't judge! I was too busy focusing on making a new blog header this morning to make it. plus hubby wasn't up yet!), I came to a realization.

Going to a bookstore is now a luxury that isn't part of my life.

How sad is that??

I was sitting there, thinking about Chelsea's bookswap and realized that I definitely was going to have to send one of the books that I have here. Not that that's a huge problem. After all, my bookshelf overfloweths.

But, going to the bookstore simply is not an option. Even though hubby and I are heading to Rapid City tomorrow, we have such a huge list that there is no way we can make time to make an extra stop. Well, I mean, yes, we could, but it's simply not practical to take the time to go out of our way to go to another store, especially one that includes books, which makes me want to meander! In fact, we ordered our wireless router online tonight so that it would take out one of our stops.

So, while I was thinking this through, I came to the realization that it is just a part of living out here. Oh, I'm not saying that I haven't been to a bookstore in 3 years, because I have. But, it normally happens on a more frivolous trip to town. Not one that includes Sams Club, Walmart, Target and the mall (all necessary stops to make returns/buy food). Not when it takes 3 hours to get there and 3 hours to get back and many hours of shopping in between.

There ya go. Welcome to another little bit piece of my life!

The One Where I Spout 7 Random Things (#2)

1.
It is now 6:09 AM and I have been up since 4:40 AM. I woke up, let the dog out (after she jumped on hubby), went to the bathroom, took a drink of water and decided to stay up. I am incredibly awake right now ... hopefully that lasts until tonight because I have a full day of work ahead of me, plus baking, getting ready for a fun and fabulous day in Rapid City tomorrow (yesterday got cancelled due to a bladder infection and a weather infection), and a fun and fabulous Sunday (hence the baking).

2.
Hubby, however, is not awake. He stumbled into the bathroom, and then stumbled into the kitchen where he asked me why in the world I was up. I told him I had no idea and he sleepily smiled at me, told me he wasn't awake and stumbled back to bed. Miss Millie stumbled in from the outside and stumbled to the couch. After about an hour she stumbled into the kitchen for a quick pet and then quickly stumbled back to bed.

3.
Because we have the smallest house ever (seriously I've lived in apts that give you more privacy and have more room than our house - though it is great for conversations because we can be in any room and still talk to each other!), I haven't turned the lights on because I don't want to disturb him. So everytime I want to do something (ie, cut, copy, paste, bold) I get really close to the keyboard and use the light from the monitor to see the keyboard.

4.
The siren in our small town just went off for 2 minutes. I hate it when that happens and I don't know why! Creeps me out everytime. Are we being attacked? Is there a huge tornado coming? Is there a fire roaring down Main St?

5.
Yes, I am a bit of a drama queen/crisismonger. Why do you ask?

6.
My hair is finally long enough that most of it stays in a ponytail! Yay!! I was gettng a little tired of the half ups and the fourth ups and the eighth ups. Now its all ups! Unless I get ambitious and do something with it so I leave it no ups. Which is what hubby prefers ... but sadly does not get to see very often. It gets in the way and/or doesn't flatter me unless I spend time on it and that doesn't happen very often. After all, its all about me right??

7.
I have been staring at the screen for quite awhile, trying to figure out what kind of a doozy #7 should be. After all, this is my crowning moment. My shining jewel. It is my last chance to wow the socks off of you. And I have no idea where to take it.

Do I talk about the yummy Starbucks breakfast blend that we got for our wedding from my dear Lisa that we finally broke into yesterday after our Folgers ran out? (ummm yeah .... no contest. Starbucks. hands down!!) Do I talk about how excited I am that we're getting a wireless router because being stuck to a cord for Internet is SOOO 2003? Do I talk about how hubby is applying for jobs in Alaska, which means life changes? Do I talk about how I have 2 papers due next week and am totally confused about both of them? Do I talk about how hungry I am right now but how I don't want to wake hubby so I'll wait for food? Do I talk about how nutso one of my profs drives me?

Meh. I can't decide.

The One Where I Slowly Change My Name

Well, today I changed my last name at two banks (one is my bank and the other is camp's). I like taking that official step to make it more concrete, but it is weird to think about how I will no longer be signing the name I have used for the past 25 years.

Weird indeed.

The One Where I Whine

Bladder Infection.

Enough said, right?

Ugh.

Anyways, so my day off went back to being my day off (I was going to work today because tomorrow I'm hoping to head down to Rapid City to do a bunch of stuff - switch my soc. sec card, make a bunch of returns and go shopping) and now I'm putting off what I shouldn't be putting off. But I'll get to it! I just know I will! Homework, cleaning, organizing, bill paying and letter writing are all in the works for today. Along with drinking copious amounts of water and blueberry/pomengranate juice (I finished off all of my cran/raspberry last night) and peeing 4 times an hour.

On a positive note, the sky is a beautiful blue and the sun is spreading its rays of happiness.

It's going to be a great day here in SE Montana!

The One Where I Give You A Glimpse ....

The One Where I Participate In 10 On Tuesday!

Hello loves! Now that I settling into a routine, I am trying to get back into practice of blogging. Oddly enough it really helps me to have random questions to answer, because a lot of times I have random thoughts running around in my mind and I like to spout those, but have a hard time making a whole blogpost out of them. So, here you go!

Oh and don't forget to head over to Chelsea's to see more 10 on Tuesday!

1. What is your favorite travel destination spot?

       Hmmm .... I like traveling places I haven't been before. So of course I have all sorts of want-to-travel to spots, like Europe. But as for my favorite place I have already been? Ummm .. Playa del Carmen was amazing and so is Seattle. The beaches of SoCal are delightful as well. As is the Gulf of Mexico. So I'm just going to say head me towards an ocean and I'll be happy as a clam!
2. Cats vs. Dogs.
      Dogs. Dogs don't jump up on my counters and dogs smile at me. I am much more of a dog person and so is hubby, so it works out well. But, I must admit that I do like cats, especially cuddly, friendly baby ones. I just don't like it when they want to be all cuddly and friendly in the middle of the night. On my face. Just saying.
3. Do you believe in fate?
      I believe God ordains certain things that appear to be coincidences but aren't. So, no to fate, but yes to God!
4. Do you believe in karma?
      No. I believe there are consequences to your actions, but not karma.


5. Everyone has a unique laugh. Do you like yours?
    No. A lot of times I do the silent laugh, then suck in air really loudly and then laugh silently again. Ugh. Or if I find something funny and want someone to know it, then I laugh really loudly - like a machine gun. Ugh again. So, I just smile a lot :-)
6. Is love really all you need?
    What is love?

    (ok, is my brain the only one that pulled out "baby don't hurt me" as the answer to that question?)
   
    name that band.

     Anyways.

    Love of God? Yes!

    Love of man? No. it's very important! But I think behind all love is commitment and honor and respect and choice.
7. What’s your take on the whole 2012 scare?
     I think when God will come when God comes. We can't date it and predict it. It will be when it will be. As far as ancient Mayans predicting the end of the world.... well, according to our tour guide in Tulum, they would have even thought it as ridiculous. It just means that their calendar starts over.
8. If you won a million dollars and had to give it all away, who would you give it to? (Family and friends not included.)
    I would divide it between Trail's End Ranch, Compassion, Soles 4 Souls, Thrive Africa and Camp Joy. And anything else I felt led to give to.


9. Do you believe in God/religion/the power of prayer?
    With all my heart.


10. What New Year’s Resolution do you always make but never keep?
      I normally throw out the typical "I'm going to read my Bible everyday" and "I'm going to work out everyday" as goals for myself, but I never set them down as resolutions.